Breakdown
by SoraLover1994
Summary: The stomach flu was a very painful thing to deal with in the middle of winter. Vomiting, fever, diarrhea... But for Kaji, things are far worse than just those symptoms alone. -WARNING: Read "More Than a Hero" and "Destructive Paths" in order to understand.-


**...So I don't know how many of you have read my fanfiction "More Than a Hero," along with the first two chapters of its sequel "Destructive Paths," but... XD I had this weird urge to write something for it a couple of days ago.**

**Did you guys know I like... Okay, actually, I LOVE sickfics? 0_0 Literally, it's gotten so bad that I struggle to find good ones, and I reread the ones in my favorites all the time, and I have to include at least ONE chapter in nearly every broad fanfiction I've written with that theme.**

**Anyways, the point... This is a one-shot story that bridges into both of those stories. **

**...It has OCs, so if you don't like it, I'm sorry, but that's how it's gonna be, because "More Than a Hero" has a few of them, and "Destructive Paths" has a group comprised of them.**

**I recommend reading "More Than a Hero," as well as the first chapter of "Destructive Paths" ****in order to understand this.**

* * *

Zack Fair hated Mondays.

They were always so dull, and by the time the mid-afternoon rush was supposed to kick in, he'd likely be finding ways to kill time before he was supposed to return from his missions.

As he was about to exit his tiny room to start his day, he felt someone grab his pants leg and glanced down at the bed again. There sat a young boy with short black hair and steel-colored eyes, looking tired.

"Kaji… Sorry, did I wake you?"

Kaji was an eight year old boy that Zack had found during a mission in Wutai carrying a dark past on his shoulders. Reluctantly, he had taken the boy under his wing, and after all the time they had spent together, he had practically accepted wanting to raise the boy if he had been unable to track down his family. Many who saw the two together were often commenting on how much they looked alike already. They even had similar appearances—thick, black hair, calm demeanor... heck, Kaji even had steel eyes like Zack previously had before his Mako surgery.

The previous night, Kaji had complained of nightmares, and ended up climbing into bed with Zack. Zack never minded the company at night, and he never minded trying to assist his young companion in his misadventures.

Kaji tiredly looked up at Zack again. "…Are… you leaving…?"

"Not yet, I was just about to get ready to shower and then-" Then Zack took a closer look at Kaji. The young boy 's face was more pallid in color than normal spare the light tint of pink in his nose and cheeks, and a light sheen of sweat covered the boy's lip. "Hey, buddy… You feeling okay?" Kaji sniffled a bit, rubbing his nose.

"…Mm…" Kaji managed to let out before letting out a slight cough.

"Lie down." Kaji did so, resting his head on the fairly sized pillows. Zack pulled the thin covers over him. "Don't move a muscle, okay? I'll be right back."

"…Okay…" Kaji watched as he left before turning over and coughing into the blanket a bit.

Zack went into the bathroom and scanned the medicine cabinets before finding the thermometer on the middle shelf. Then he returned to the child's aide, where he found him lying helplessly, taking deep breaths. Zack immediately threw a hand to the boy's forehead after moving some strands of hair away, then over his own forehead before letting out a heavy sigh. "Even without using the thermometer, it's pretty obvious you have a fever…"

Kaji glanced up at him slightly. "…Is it… like overheating…?"

"Yeah, it works similar to that. Fevers occur when viral infection occurs within the body, and temperatures elevate in order to kill off the virus." Zack was rubbing the boy's head a bit, which soon eased Kaji. "Here. Open your mouth, stick this under your tongue." Kaji slowly opened his mouth and Zack set the thermometer under his tongue after turning the instrument on. A few moments later, a shrill beeping sound emanated the room, and Zack took hold of the device again. "Hm… 101.2. Yep. You definitely have a fever." Kaji just turned his head and coughed. "Wait here again, I'll be right back."

"S-Sure…" Kaji slowly closed his eyes and awaited his return. Instead, he was met with a cold, slightly dripping wet substance upon his forehead. He opened his eyes again and reached up a hand. Cotton. It was a towel. A cold and wet one. He shivered a bit.

Zack took a seat on the bed next to him. "How'd you end up getting sick, kiddo…? Have you felt like this long?"

"…Just when I got up last night… My head hurt really bad…"

Zack was appalled. Last night. He had been feeling sick since LAST NIGHT, and Zack hadn't even taken the time to notice. "Why didn't you say anything to me?"

"I didn't want to bother you for long…" Zack's phone began vibrating on the nightstand, and he reached for it, grabbing it, going into the hall and answering.

"Zack speaking."

"Just giving you a wake-up call…" Zack slightly grinned.

"I know how to wake up on my own, Cissnei." Then he looked to Kaji again coughing in the room and his grin faded. "I don't think I can work today… Kaji's not feeling well."

"Is he all right?"

"He has a fever and a cough... I think he may have caught the flu. It is that time, isn't it…? It's been going around a lot…"

"I don't think Lazard's going to be lenient enough to let you take a sick day this time… You've already had to take a lot because you had to take care of Kaji. You can't keep it up forever…"

Cissnei had always been the only person that seemed to doubt that Zack was capable of properly caring for Kaji without risking his own expulsion from SOLDIER. He never understood what she was thinking whenever it came to him with child, but he never took her words lightly.

But this time she had a point. He HAD been taking a lot of sick days to take care of Kaji. He wanted to enroll him in school, for him to at least be in a place other than home while he had work. Kaji was antisocial, maybe it would improve his personality. Maybe Kaji would be happier not cooped up in the house with a sitter or alone.

"…Cissnei. I REALLY need to stay with him. Talk to Tseng for me…"

"…All right. I will. I'll call you back in a few minutes." Then the line went dead. Zack returned to the boy's aide.

"Are you gonna go to work…?" Kaji asked, voice a bit strained. Zack sighed.

"I might have to. I really want to stay here and make sure you're okay…" Kaji just blinked a few times before slowly closing his eyes again.

"No… It's okay… I'll be okay… Go to work…" Kaji slightly froze when he felt an odd sensation moving through his system. Something was coming upward.

…Oh, crap.

"Whoa, you look kinda-" Without warning, Kaji immediately got out of bed and raced for a nearby garbage can, letting out a retching sound as the contents of his stomach spewed out. Slowly, Zack covered his eyes with his right hand and shook his head. "…Green."

* * *

The upchuck continued for some time, and Zack just continued rubbing the boy's back until, finally, Kaji let out a groan and leaned back into Zack's arms, letting out a few well-deserved breaths. The elder raven-haired man got up and grabbed the blanket from his bed, wrapping it around Kaji. Then Zack lifted the boy up, one arm under his legs and the other supporting his back, carrying him into the living room area. Kaji just rested his head against the man's chest.

"That… was so… horrible…" He moaned.

"I know, kiddo… Stomach flu's a terrible thing… Just try to get some sleep, okay?"

"Mm…" Was all Kaji could muster out before he slowly closed his eyes and drifted off. He laid Kaji down on the couch before setting off to clean up the mess spewed in his garbage can.

Zack was hardly worried about whether or not the illness would pass on to him. It was seldom that he got sick anyways due to the enhancement of his immune system from the Mako surgery. Kaji was at more of a risk anyways due to his still-developing immune system.

As he was cleaning, his phone gave off the fanfare ringtone, and Zack raced to retrieve it. Naturally, it was Cissnei on the other line.

"Tseng didn't go for it." Zack sucked his teeth a bit before sighing.

"Damn… Okay. I'm gonna end up being a little late then. I have to call a sitter and get things for Kaji to have when he needs it."

"Try not to take too long." Then the line went dead. Zack looked to the sleeping Kaji briefly before dialing a number.

Ten minutes later, a young woman of about nineteen reached Zack's home, her long blonde hair tied into a bun at the top of her head. "Hello, Zack. You wanted me to watch Kaji for you again?"

"Hey there, Artemis. Kaji's gotten the stomach flu, and I have work I can't get out of, so I can't stay with him… Is that gonna be a problem for you?"

"No, not at all. I have three little brothers, I'm pretty used to dealing with sick kids, trust me." She gave him a small smile.

Artemis was the girl living a couple of blocks away. She and Zack had met by coincidence after he arrived in Midgar to join SOLDIER. She had enlisted as well three years after him, but failed to follow through due to the death of her parents. That left her to raise three other children on her own, all school age. But she never complained.

Zack grinned and took her by the hands. "You are an absolute lifesaver!" Artemis blinked a few times, lightly blushing.

"N-No problem, really! Don't mention it!"

Zack released her hands and then he grabbed a black hooded jacket from the hall closet. "I'm gonna go and pick up some things for him and then I'll be right back before I head to work, okay?" She gave a court nod and he gave her a wave before exiting the apartment. Artemis waited for the door to close before she let out a dreamy sigh, leaning up against the wall.

"Somehow I always get lost in those sky blue eyes…"

Fifteen minutes went by before Zack returned with some groceries. Artemis helped him go through the bags a bit. Ibuprofen, cans of chicken broth and chicken soup, various fruits, sports drinks… and Artemis let out a grin when she found that he had bought her a couple of bags of candy. She had a massive sweet tooth, and he knew it.

"I hope this isn't for Kaji."

"Nope. A little gift for you and your brothers." Hopefully the candy would even last that long.

"You didn't have to, Zack."

"I know. I wanted to." Zack grinned. Artemis just giggled. "Well, I'm gonna head off to work now. Anything happens, call me immediately."

"Don't worry about us, we'll be just fine. Go on, enjoy work."

"All right. I'll be back later!" The moment the door closed, Kaji slowly opened his eyes and looked to the door, then to Artemis, who was still putting away groceries.

"…Artemis?" She glanced back at Kaji. "What are you doing here?"

"Zack had to go to work, so you'll be spending the day with me." She smiled at him.

"…Oh. Okay…"

Kaji was a bit disappointed. It wasn't that he didn't like Artemis, she was a nice girl when she wasn't being strict… he would have just rather had Zack around to take care of him.

* * *

Zack arrived just shy of nine in the morning at Shinra Corporation, removing his helmet from his spiky hair and shaking it out a bit. At the entrance, he noticed a group of infantrymen talking. Immediately, Zack noticed a spiky-haired blonde about to put his helmet on, but walked up from behind and put a hand on the recruit's shoulder.

"Hey there, chocobo-head."

The boy turned his head slightly and then grinned. "Oh, Zack. Hey."

Cloud Strife, a fifteen year old cadet in SOLDIER. He and Zack had met by pure chance during a mission in Modeoheim, and became close spawning from their 'country-boy' backgrounds. Cloud hailed from Nibelheim, and Zack from Gongaga. They were practically like brothers.

"Getting prepped for training?" Cloud nodded a bit.

"Yeah. And you? I'm surprised you're late. Kaji giving you some trouble back home?"

"Well, Kaji's down with a case of the stomach flu… I couldn't take any more sick days, so I left him back home with a sitter until I fill my quota."

"Oh man… I used to hate catching that at his age. It was torture…"

"Yeah, I'm gonna try and finish up pretty quickly so I can get back to him. He's probably gonna go nuts if I don't, knowing him."

* * *

About half an hour went by before Kaji returned to slumber again, and Artemis just sat on the other couch, watching some TV to keep herself entertained. He hadn't been asleep for very long before he got up and went racing for the bathroom. Artemis got up and followed him, kneeling down beside him as he sang an off-tune melody to the toilet and rubbing his back.

Kaji nearly cried when he finished. The acidic aftertaste was horrible, and the illness itself was becoming unbearable. He had never dealt with this before. After calm words, Artemis had managed to get him back to the couch and take a few sips of his fruit punch sports drink before he finally settled down and returned to sleep.

The process repeated itself over and over again five times in the spawn of a couple of hours, and finally, Kaji's already unstable body started to get fed up with it. His eyes flashed amber, and he slightly held his aching head.

"Kaji?" Artemis called. He looked up to Artemis slightly, his eyes constantly jumping from steel to amber. She was shocked by the action. "A-Are you all right-?" Kaji let out a low growl.

"Get… away…" Artemis's eyes narrowed a bit and she put her hands on his shoulders.

"Talk to me."

"I told you to get away!" Kaji roared, pushing her onto the floor. Artemis was befuddled by his strength—his power was as great as her own, and he was much smaller. As Artemis stood up, flames burst through Kaji's shirt from his back. The inferno sent her flying over the couch.

"What the hell's going on?!" She hissed. Kaji shot her a menacing glare, eyes now fully amber. Artemis froze dead in her spot on the floor before shuffling back a bit. Kaji slowly got to his feet and turned around, facing her. Slowly, he walked towards her. "O-Oh god… N-No-no-no-no-" Kaji grabbed her by her neck and lifted her up off the ground. "Augh!"

"Silence." His voice was much deeper, far more intimidating coming from the eight year old boy's body. Artemis tried to grab his wrist with her own two arms in an attempt to break it, but instead Kaji set some flames to his arm and prevented it.

When her eyes slowly closed, he dropped her to the floor. She coughed up a bit of blood before her eyes closed shut again, and she remained still. He started to turn and make his way out of the door, leaving the unconscious girl behind.

* * *

Kaji came to a stop on LOVELESS Avenue, amber eyes darting in all directions. Then he felt droplets falling from the sky onto his face. Rain. The showers poured down as quickly as they had appeared, and he continued down the streets, his hair sliding down his neck.

Where was Zack, he wondered to himself.

* * *

Zack was just getting off of work. He had finished his missions in record time, chatted a bit with Cissnei and Reno, arranged dinner plans with Cloud within the coming weeks, shot the breeze with Kunsel, then decided to get back to his kid.

He was a bit surprised how quickly the rain had picked up when he reached his motorcycle. He was about to put his helmet on when he heard a cough in the distance. It took him by surprise. The flu had been going around, so he shouldn't have been… but the thought of Kaji was burning in his mind. He paused and decided to look around LOVELESS Avenue a bit.

Something felt off.

* * *

Kaji was slowly regaining control of himself again. The moment his eyes returned to their normal steel color, he dropped to his knees and violently threw up on the sidewalk, causing some people around him to gasp out of shock. After about five minutes of this, Kaji let out a few staggered breaths before he felt his body collapse onto the pavement and violently shake from the freezing rain beating down on him.

Zack turned the corner and noticed a boy on the ground, trembling. Immediately, he raced over, and his fears were realized when he saw that this boy had been Kaji.

"Kaji!" Kaji weakly glanced up towards Zack, panting. Immediately, Zack threw his jacket over him and lifted him off of the ground. "What happened?!"

"I… Arte… mis…" He breathed out before slowly closing his eyes and resting his head against his shoulder. He was exhausted. Zack just held the boy tightly before racing back to his house.

There, he found Artemis still lying unconscious on the floor. He took a few steps back, completely stunned and confused. Reluctantly, he called an ambulance.

* * *

Artemis didn't remember anything that had happened during the time she was taking care of Kaji, and it was assumed that it occurred for the better. Hours later, she was back home with her brothers, and Zack was back at home taking care of Kaji.

He dabbed at the boy's forehead with a wet towel, and Kaji found the cool texture a bit comforting on his "Kaji… what happened today while I was at work? Can you tell me?"

Kaji's eyes darted to the teddy bear in his hands briefly before he slowly looked up at Zack again. "…Someone broke in. Artemis… protected me, and I… I ran for help…"

"That was a very brave thing you did… Artemis is okay now because of you." Zack replied, slightly ruffling the boy's hair. Kaji just grew silent.

Just because Artemis couldn't remember Kaji's breakdown… didn't mean that Kaji wouldn't.

The memory was going to haunt him forever. The fact that he had nearly killed someone who was just trying to help him. It hadn't been the first time. It wouldn't be the last.

* * *

**"…I'm sorry… Zack…"**

* * *

In present day, thirteen year old Kaji was pitifully lying asleep in a bed, a wet rag over his forehead. His cheeks were bright red, his medium length raven locks sprawled out over the pillow. He was surrounded by wooden walls—his current location had been a small cabin hidden away in the snowy regions of Modeoheim. His closest friend Satsuki sat on the bed next to him, carefully keeping an eye on him in order to keep his breakdown from occurring.

It hadn't been the first time Kaji had caught the flu, and it certainly wasn't going to be his last. He had warned her the moment he felt the symptoms come on that if he started to change at all mentally, to knock him unconscious or take her gun and shoot him. She hadn't wanted things to come to that—she was a damn good shot, and she knew that he meant to kill him before he could kill her. As much as she cared about him, she wasn't going to hesitate either. She had learned better by now.

The door opened and a light breeze sent her long brown ponytail flying upward. When the door closed, a young man wearing a long black coat pulled his hood off, revealing long black hair. He had just returned from surveying the area. She managed a slight smile.

"Kazuki…"

"Satsuki." Kaji let out a few harsh coughs, causing both teenagers to glance over at him. It wasn't long before he was settling again, tiredly rolling over to his right side, the rag sliding off of his forehead. "I take it he isn't doing any better by now? I wasn't gone too long, was I?"

"Hm… His fever spiked a bit, but I managed to keep him calm enough to get him back to sleep." Satsuki reached out a hand and carefully pushed some of his sweaty bangs away, tucking them behind his ears before dabbing at his forehead with the rag again. "I think… he was having a nightmare. He was talking in his sleep about Zack again…"

Kazuki took a seat in the chair opposite the bed, tying his hair back into a ponytail that cascaded down his back. "I doubt he'd let a lousy case of the flu break him down. He's nothing like the idiotic brat he was before. He's… changed."

Satsuki let out a slight chuckle. "Maybe he's not the only one who's changed."

"…Don't get me wrong. I still don't like him. I just don't want to be a liability if you end up having to put him down."

Those words made Satsuki sigh. She really hoped that history wouldn't repeat itself before Kaji got any closer to finding Zack.

* * *

**:D And that's that!**

**...With that, I go back to working on Gravekeeper. XD**

**Read and review!**


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